English Explanatory Dictionary

gingerbread

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A type of cake whose main flavoring is ginger.
  2. Something ersatz; something showy but insubstantial.
  3. A flamboyant Victorian-era architectural style.
verb
  1. To decorate or embellish in an ornate or intricate way.

Pronunciation

/ˈd͡ʒɪn.(d͡)ʒəˌbɹɛd/ /ˈd͡ʒɪn.d͡ʒɚˌbɹɛd/ En-us-gingerbread.ogg

Word forms

gingerbread gingerbreads gingebred gingerbreading gingerbreaded

Etymology

From Middle English gyngebred, gyngebrede, from Old French gingembras, gingimbrat (“preserved ginger”), from Medieval Latin *gingimbrātus (“gingered”, presumably referring to ginger that perhaps had a pharmaceutical use for some medicinal preparation), with the intrusive m added to gingiber, from Latin zingiber (“ginger”), of earlier Sanskrit origin, through Ancient Greek ζιγγίβερις (zingíberis). The third syllable was earlier confounded with bread, and the insertion of an r in the second syllable completed the semblance of a compound word: ginger + bread.

Synonyms

gingerbread up

Related words

ginger gingersnap

Derived words

cake and gingerbread genderbread person gingerbread cookie gingerbreaded gingerbread house gingerbread husband gingerbread man gingerbread nut gingerbread office gingerbread palm gingerbread plum gingerbread trap gingerbread tree gingerbread up gingerbread work gingerbready lord of gingerbread man of gingerbread pepper-gingerbread take the gilt off the gingerbread
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